Well RIM was a wireless smartphone and tablet firm; typically a 'back door' would be incorporated into the hardware backbone infrastructure layer physically connected to the web, i.e. switches and routers especially.

Purely at a guess - if it happened at all - I would opine that it likely would've occurred in the pre-Nortel era when part of what later ultimately became Nortel was known as Bell Northern Research, i.e. the Canadian arm of Bell Systems.

BNR pioneered the notion of a digital PBX (switch); much of that innovation occurred in the late 1960's and 70's when the Cold War was at its height and Bell (Canada), later aka BNR, had very close ties to its American parent/partner.

As CSIS did not exist at that time any back door(s) that may have existed presumably were initiated or sponsored by American Government or Intelligence Service influences (perhaps?) with tacit approval and acknowledgement by the RCMP Security Service - all of which is pure speculation on my part.

The story regarding AT&T is that in the early 1970's telephone switching gear was sold to a Warsaw Pact nation, rumored to be Poland, which had had incorporated into it the capability of literally being blown remotely from a location in the US; the theory being such an action would have been initiated only in time of war, presumably if the Warsaw Pact forces had made a move into Central Europe against NATO.

As Poland sits squarely between the old Soviet Union/Russia and Germany, W-P military telecommunications would have been utterly disrupted and in complete disarray. As you can imagine a similar, successful contemporary cyber-attack today, given the convergence between systems, communications, satellites, both military and civilian, would be infinitely more damaging which is why a great effort is made today to counter that threat.

The Americans held a presser today outing China as being involved in hacking efforts against government agencies, NASA, the navy and companies throughout the world, including Canada. The presser further alleged China is trying to replace the United States as the world's leading superpower and is using "illegal methods to get there."

China now claims Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been detained for "endangering state security." The third detained Canadian, Sarah McIver, is undergoing "administrative punishment" for allegedly working illegally as a teacher in China.

Know it all.Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.

Unless consumers get behind the technology it will stay where it is. Currently blackberry's are being used by the Forces and if that hasn’t reinstated their presence there’s little else that will without mass buy-in.

Know it all.Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.

The Americans held a presser today outing China as being involved in hacking efforts against government agencies, NASA, the navy and companies throughout the world, including Canada. The presser further alleged China is trying to replace the United States as the world's leading superpower and is using "illegal methods to get there."

China now claims Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been detained for "endangering state security." The third detained Canadian, Sarah McIver, is undergoing "administrative punishment" for allegedly working illegally as a teacher in China.

While all of that may well be true and likely is, no Great Power/Superpower from the last 200 years is immune from the same allegations.

I've already highlighted one scenario where America incorporated technical back doors in technology exported elsewhere. There are doubtless many, many other uber-stealthy examples as yet unknown by the public and which in all likelihood will remain so for years and decades to come - and perpetrated by all the significant powers on earth including the US.

In fact the budget for American intelligence is so vast and so interwoven among the various bureaucracies of the US Administration, the true figure is probably known to very few people in high places. Officially its somewhere in the neighborhood of $70 billion USD but some American academic and ex-civil service sources consider that figure low and have estimated it could be as high as four to five times that figure, i.e. on the order of $300 billion dollars: and that's not military expenditures folks but purely to fund the vast web of US intelligence agencies and operations, both external and domestic.

Are the Chinese very likely up to no good from a Western perspective? Almost certainly they are. They look nice and shiny quasi-capitalist on the surface but at the end of the day they remain an authoritarian regime answerable only to the Party as opposed to the rule of law. Moreoever they have embarked on a strategy of cultivating business, economic and military relationships with clients all over the globe and are focused on exploiting areas far beyond their borders, including BTW the Arctic....

Then again does any nation devote more of its wealth and national resources to spying the US? Is anyone more experienced or downright shady at the practice than Britain, which has been engaged in espionage longer than almost any other modern nation state? More cutthroat than the Russians? Or more clandestine and perhaps ultimately effective than the Israelis? Its all really a matter of degree. All one can safely say for certain is that pretty much everyone is spying on everyone else, as has been the case since ancient times....

Unless consumers get behind the technology it will stay where it is. Currently blackberry's are being used by the Forces and if that hasn’t reinstated their presence there’s little else that will without mass buy-in.

While all of that may well be true and likely is, no Great Power/Superpower from the last 200 years is immune from the same allegations.

I've already highlighted one scenario where America incorporated technical back doors in technology exported elsewhere. There are doubtless many, many other uber-stealthy examples as yet unknown by the public and which in all likelihood will remain so for years and decades to come - and perpetrated by all the significant powers on earth including the US.

In fact the budget for American intelligence is so vast and so interwoven among the various bureaucracies of the US Administration, the true figure is probably known to very few people in high places. Officially its somewhere in the neighborhood of $70 billion USD but some American academic and ex-civil service sources consider that figure low and have estimated it could be as high as four to five times that figure, i.e. on the order of $300 billion dollars: and that's not military expenditures folks but purely to fund the vast web of US intelligence agencies and operations, both external and domestic.

Are the Chinese very likely up to no good from a Western perspective? Almost certainly they are. They look nice and shiny quasi-capitalist on the surface but at the end of the day they remain an authoritarian regime answerable only to the Party as opposed to the rule of law. Moreoever they have embarked on a strategy of cultivating business, economic and military relationships with clients all over the globe and are focused on exploiting areas far beyond their borders, including BTW the Arctic....

Then again does any nation devote more of its wealth and national resources to spying the US? Is anyone more experienced or downright shady at the practice than Britain, which has been engaged in espionage longer than almost any other modern nation state? More cutthroat than the Russians? Or more clandestine and perhaps ultimately effective than the Israelis? Its all really a matter of degree. All one can safely say for certain is that pretty much everyone is spying on everyone else, as has been the case since ancient times....

I'm watching a series on Netflix called Pine Gap, it's about surveillance worldwide and the double dealing done to hide certain things from certain folks.

based on interview with paul evans of ubc's school of public policy & global affairs

Why it is political is in the context of the American request. There are some elements that look political. First, the US has tried to take action against an individual rather than a company. Second, it seems to be part of a larger conflict between the US and China, not just about trade, but about technology. The US is well aware that Canada is being forced to make a decision on Huawei's involvement in the country's 5G system. It is very clear that the US administration, the intelligence agencies in particular, do not want Canada to include Huawei in its 5G system. We don't doubt for a minute that there were deep political roots to the American request. Canada is in a difficult position of trying to respond legally and we know the issue is causing a great deal of anger and concern in China.

*snip*

My personal view as a scholar is that the US is now wishing to keep China out of several high-tech sectors that are seen as threatening and identified as a national security threat to the US. Huawei is just one of those companies that have been identified as a national security concern to the US. I try to understand this as an American form of techno-nationalism. Techno-nationalism is essentially the idea that certain industrial or technological sectors are so important that they are elements of national power and losing domination over them is a threat to national security. I think that in the US, there is a wide set of industry and technological sectors that are now subject to techno-nationalism.

Huawei is involved in 5G and artificial intelligence, just one of those sectors. The US in its 301 actions against China has identified 10 sectors that include self-driving automobiles, robotics, quantum computing etc. Vice President Mike Pence has recently suggested that some other sectors be added, including bio-pharmacy and clean technologies that may be a risk to American advantage in those areas.

What I think most are concerned about in Canada is of course the Meng issue and making sure it is dealt with fairly, legally and quickly. The bigger picture that concerns Canada and other countries is American techno-nationalism. The US is not just doing it with reference to its own industries, its own production and its own universities. It is encouraging other countries including the UK, France and Japan to also participate in this, though techno-nationalism is not the phrase they use. This is not just about a trade war with China; the bigger issue that is behind the scene is techno-nationalism of the US.

Techno-nationalism is as old as technological advancement itself and why American military interests continue to rely almost exclusively on American-built, engineered and refined products, armaments and research.

I also don’t consider Canada to be in a “tough” position. How many times has China incarcerated Canadian nationals?

The problem with this whole scenario is that Canadian “emotion” has now been triggered. China knows that Canadian sentiment is ultra-fragile regarding issues like extradition, they understand that the Trump administration has a lot of Canadians upset with their neighbour and they know that playing on the emotions of Canadians is easy, so exploiting public sentiment is what they’re focused on.

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Polish officials have raided the homes of a Huawei sales director based in Poland and an individual involved with telecom Orange. Huawei subsequently fired Weng Weijing after Polish security forces identified Weijing as being involved in espionage:

LONDON — The Chinese tech company Huawei on Saturday announced it has fired a sales director who was arrested in Poland and charged with spying for China, saying he has brought the firm’s reputation “into disrepute.” - https://nationalpost...ged-with-spying

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Two things. If Michael Kovrig was on leave and not travelling under a diplomatic passport, why is he entitled to diplomatic immunity? If he is entitled, why did it take our Prime Minister 33 day to say so (maybe his Christmas break)?